According to the Daily Mail, a company email told shop floor staff at the Milan flagship store to do push-ups if they failed to greet customers correctly.

It is reported that male employees were ordered to do 10 push-ups, while women were given 10 squats if deemed not to be performing to a high enough standard.

The internal message, leaked to Corriere della Sera newspaper, apparently read: “From today, every time we make an error we’ll have to do 10 press-ups, or squats for the women.”

Italy’s largest union, CGIL, slammed the practice, saying: “If this is the American model, then we have little to learn from them,” adding that it compromised the “dignity of staff”.

Still, a few push-ups shouldn’t be too much trouble for anyone who works at Abercrombie and Fitch – they all look like they spend plenty of time down the gym as it is. Just take a look at the Abercrombie and Fitch models lined up outside a Singapore branch above.

Picture: Getty